We're TWO! Magnifying Women While Building a Business
When I started Honey & Sage two years ago the mission (Better Woman + Better Earth) came to me with simplicity, yet the significance was heavy. How do I birth that can fit that mission? And, so I've done my best to cultivate myself whilst trying to help cultivate other women...or at least giving them what I can for them to cultivate themselves. Magnification is key.
At markets we hear some of the most intimate details of a woman's life within the span of 4 minutes. It's amazing what a compassionate ear can elicit. While we want to sell our apothecary goods and care packages to everyone we know (because we believe in them!), sometimes a woman doesn't need a product--she just needs empathy. Sometimes, she just needs an invitation to a women's gathering so she can find a community.
I try to purchase products for our monthly subscription Sage Woman Care Package from other women makers. When we have events, we try to find women who have aligned purposes with whom we can collaborate. In November we featured Lisa Reinhardt, maker of Wei of Chocolate, in our Sage Woman Care Package. She makes a beautiful product and her heart's desire to raise the vibration of all those who enjoy her beautiful, dark chocolate. We want to magnify her work.
In September we held an Autumn Abundance Dinner to support Circle of Health International (COHI) with Taylor of the Boho Market (see pic of her below with Sarah singing into her ear.) We chose COHI because they financially and medically support women and babes in regions that are war-torn and environmentally unstable. We can't necessarily travel to give aid, but we do want to magnify COHI and the work that they provide because their heart's desire is to serve women who need it most.
As for Taylor and the Boho Market, her events have allowed us to grow in a beautiful, organic, and community-based way. So much that women are always asking us when the next Boho Market is. She MAGNIFIES our work by congregating passionate makers. We will continue to support her in our 2018 market schedule, too.
Sarah, my partner, is also INCREDIBLE at garnering support around the community. I can leave pretty much any relationship up to her and know that she treats it as gold because WE WANT TO SUPPORT WOMEN WHO SUPPORT WOMEN. She might even sing into their ear, if they're lucky like she does for Taylor.
We host an annual Sage Woman retreat and ask some our favorite women to participate. Last year Cookie, owner of Mylk by Cookie, was the chef and again, at our Abundance Dinner she prepared sweet treats that cannot be compared. She's a women of her word who also works to lift other women up through her work. She is also a magnifier.
Health and wellness has always been at the forefront of my mind with Honey & Sage. I want to promote the message that a woman's health has long-term effects on her family AND community. Long-time supporter and friend, Doctor Lexi Meleski, of Our Birthing Home Wellness Community has supported Honey & Sage from the beginning by allowing us to speak at her monthly doula gatherings (the first Friday of each month), attending our women's gatherings, and graciously giving us space to hold our own events inside her community center. She also makes a beautiful model--but that's beside the point. She models magnification of others in everything she does. From hosting to physically adjusting, her heart's desire is to create a space of healers accessible for the Dallas community she serves.
My mom...Tamara Taylor of T&C Floral Company, is, perhaps, my biggest magnifier. From the get-go she has cheered me on and modeled entrepreneurial courage that I've seen her cultivate since I was in 5th grade. She grew her business from our home then moved into an 8x100' enclosed alley, then to 2,500 square feet, then to 3,500 and finally into her beautiful 5,000 square foot industrial space now. She has relentlessly pursued her vision while encouraging me to do the same. Her Aries fire ALWAYS kindling my Sagittarius fire...sometimes making explosions along the way, but always birthing something beautiful. Because of her support, I've felt compelled to offer support to other women.
Lastly, I want to hilight a few other women who have been integral to our growth and who do their very best to contribute to the mission of Better Woman + Better Earth in their own way.
Brandi Mata Johnson of Kindred Photography has been a staple in the growth of this company. A good majority of the images you see have been taken by her and she's always managed to capture who I see as a Sage Woman.
Whitney Rogers of Whitney Rogers Photography has blessed us with her fresh set of eyes in 2017 giving us a new way to look at ourselves. She is a quiet and hilarious force who sees the world in such a beautiful way.
And lastly, to Stephanie Green, the magic behind every single piece of graphic design, whose work (in collaboration with Brandi and me) will be expressed in 2018 through our newest printed baby: Sage Woman Journal-Wellness Guide to Seasons + Cycles.
I've always been a women gatherer. I think it's because I'm an only child and with no siblings, I've always felt I needed to fill that void. As I've gotten older and built this business I find that the women with whom I surround myself model courage. They're inspiring and vulnerable and thoughtful. They want to leave things better than they found it. And, they do their best to magnify other women, too. That's my heart's desire--magnify and multiply our deeds. It's not about our badass products. It's about Better Woman + Better Earth.
Amen.